Prime Minister Narendra Modi Addressed 6th Eastern Economic Forum 2021 in Vladivostok

New Delhi: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi delivered a video-address during the plenary session of the 6th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) held on 3 September 2021 in Vladivostok. It may be recalled that PM was the Chief Guest for the 5th EEF in 2019, the first by an Indian Prime Minister.

Applauding President Putin’s vision for the development of the Russian Far East, PM reiterated India’s commitment as part of its “Act East Policy’ of being a reliable partner of Russia in this regard. He underlined the natural complementarities of India and Russia in the development of Russian Far East.

PM stressed on the importance of greater economic and commercial engagement between the two sides in line with the ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’. He highlighted the importance of health and pharma sectors as important areas of cooperation that have emerged during the pandemic. He also referred to other potential areas of economic cooperation including diamond, coking coal, steel, timber etc.

Recalling the visit of Chief Ministers of Indian states to EEF-2019, PM extended an invitation to Governors of the 11 regions of Russian Far East to visit India.

Despite the challenges of Covid-19 pandemic, an Indian delegation led by Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Hardeep Singh Puri comprising leading Indian oil and gas companies are attending the India-Russia Business dialogue within the framework of EEF. An online meeting between Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Vijay Rupani and Governor of Sakha-Yakutia province of Russia was held on 2 September on the sidelines of EEF. Over 50 representatives from reputed Indian companies from various sectors will also be participating in online format.